#Give2get

The ripple effect of being generous and thoughtful.

I recently undertook a fast and furious trip to the UK - a long weekend with my son Tom to celebrate his 23rd birthday and then a week of work which took me from the South Coast of England to Edinburgh, across to Belfast and then back into Manchester.

The pace was unrelenting and I never had the time to fully recovery my sleep pattern. I was in Edinburgh for my UK book launch, to deliver some client work and catch up with a few friends and business contacts. There was barely a minute to rest. I was staying one night in the City and decided to use the Premier Inn on Princes Street. Clean, functional, well positioned and I remembered from our last visit, friendly service. Given the limited time I would be there, it was perfect.

It was exactly the same this time - lovely, unassuming and friendly service. So much so, I decided to GiFT Aanuoluwapo, the front of house lady who checked me out, gave me a new key when I lost mine and was generally helpful, a copy of The Rocking Chair Test. I was living up to my grandfather’s expectations about servant leadership and putting good out into the Universe.

Not only did Aanuoluwapo read the book, she kindly posted on Linkedin with this photo of her morning cup of tea and read:

Aanuoluwapo also said: ‘Thank you so much! Especially for the gift of your book, it’s changing the trajectory of my life in the best way possible!’

Those words make me so incredibly happy. The best feedback in the world. More recently I was travelling by train to Brisbane to catch a flight when there was a police incident on the line. A load of passengers were now in danger of missing their flights. We quickly got off and called ubers. I shared mine with Julie who was heading to work in the mines. By the time we reached the airport, I had GiFTed her a copy too. Before long her brother Blake messaged me to say Julia was quoting bits of the book to him. Blake and I agreed to meet so we can work out how we can help each other.

Random acts of kindness can create an incredible ripple through the world. I believe you do then because you want to - it feels the right thing in the moment - not with any expectation of anything in return. Do it with the best of intentions and over time the universe will conspire to help you.

Where did this all start for me? With my grandfather. When I reflected on his teachings I realised I was too much about the GET. I needed to put the GIVE before the GET.

To conclude, here is a part of GiFT 30) from The Rocking Chair Test:

During my Mozart time, I began to reflect on my grandfather’s teachings and the person I wanted to become. I realised I needed to make a simple but profound change to my approach. I needed to focus on what I could GIVE. This sounds so simple, but it takes discipline—a winning habit that requires energy and effort. It is a form of servant leadership and starts with the simple question: 

 What more can I do to help?

Once I mastered this, I found that everything else improved, including my team’s performance, the quality of customer conversations, and a shift in supplier relationships from transactional to partnership.

Living and leading from a position of helping others impacts all those around you as it is a very positive approach to life and business. It is conducive to building belief, confidence and trust. It encourages others to leave their cave and seek to move forward. People know you are there to help and support them and you want to be the wind beneath their wings.  It draws people towards you and ensures you have richer and more rewarding conversations. In turn, this fuels your desire to have a bigger impact on others. As you feel better, your attitude becomes ever more positive, and you feel rewarded and enriched. It is a highly virtuous cycle. 

Born out of this thinking came one of my mantras: #give2get. You focus on the GIVE without any expectation on the GET. However, over time, you find the more you GIVE the more the GET looks after itself.

It’s #whatwinnersdo

👉Talking of amazing service, the teams at Virgin Money, Edinburgh Store and ICC, Belfast were absolutely exceptional too!! 👏👏👏👏